A cold snap is on the way for the Okanagan, with temperatures to cool down as early as Tuesday afternoon.
And according to Global BC’s Chief Meteorologist, Mark Madryga, it will be even colder as the week progresses.
“Temperatures in the Okanagan Valley will drop on Tuesday afternoon and a lot more cold air moving in for the remainder of the week. By Thursday, Friday morning, we could easily be in the -15 degree range.”
The extremely cold temperatures could put Okanagan crops at risk, including cherries.
“The forecast is looking a little bit better than initially forecasted,” said BC Cherry Association president Sukhpal Bal.
“If it stays around -11 to -13, which is still cold, there may be a bit of damage, but I think so far, we’re still optimistic that we’ve got a reasonably sized cherry crop for this upcoming season.”
This quick dip in temperatures follows a much colder snap back in December, which had a major impact on the wine industry.
According to the Summerland Research and Development Centre, a bud dissection found primary and secondary bud damage across the Okanagan due to the extreme winter weather.
“Crops in the valley from what I’ve already heard, the grape industry has received quite a bit of damage. Especially near just before Christmas time, there was quite a bit of cold temperatures close to -30,” said Bal.
“We do have some damage in the valley, potentially some minor damage to the cherry crop already. It is the extreme cold weather that appears all of a sudden that can do damage before the blossom even has a chance to open.”
Although the cold weather is concerning for farmers, there are steps that can be taken to protect crops from the colder air.
“There are some tools that we can use, mainly the wind machines. There’s big blades on a pole at the orchards and those will sense when the temperature has gotten quite low,” said Bal.
“The benefit of that is it keeps the air moving in low areas where cold air tends to settle.”
Bal went on to say that in some areas, farmers will use helicopters for the same reason and trees are normally planted in a way to protect from cold air.
But despite temperatures dipping into the negatives, it’s not colder than normal for this time of year.
“Not necessarily record-breaking cold for this time of year but a shock to the system for sure with those plunging temperatures,” said Madryga.
Adding that this colder weather could be sticking around for a while.
“There is an indication that temperatures will come up several degrees into next week but still stay chilly,” said Madryga.
“We’ll have some snow Tuesday afternoon, then drier, then likely more snow Saturday night, Sunday.”